Heads up! This is going to be a long entry, not because I don't know how to summarize (well...), but because I feel that the information matters. :-)

Christmas is so full of wonder, meaning and tradition. But, where did all these things that we now call "Christmas" come from? 

The Biblical Celebration

• The Dawning of Light (Luke 1:78-79)
• The Fullness of Time (Galatians 4:4-5)
• The Mystery of Incarnation (1 Timothy 3:16)

What an amazing picture of Christ's coming to us. As John 1 says, He came to a sin-darkened world, He came as a Sunrise from on High and offered a free gift of salvation and liberation from servitude to the servants of darkness. Actually, John 1 says a lot more than that...worth a complete read.

The True Christmas Story

The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-20)
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

The Shepherds and Angels
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of Heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in Highest Heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to Heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Christian Meaning in Some Ancient Traditions

• December 25th is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.
• Evergreen Trees are the symbol of eternal life. Martin Luther introduced them to the Reformation Church as a picture of our endless life in Christ, by bringing in a tree to his family on Christmas Eve lit with candles (Isaiah 60:13).
• Candles are a picture that Christ is the Light of the world (John 8:12).
• Holly speaks of the thorns in His crown (Matthew 27:29).
• Red is a color of Christmas that speaks of Christ's blood and death.
• Gifts are a reminder of the gifts of the Magi to baby Jesus. Each of them speak to a component of His incarnation: Majesty in life, Bitterest Agony in Death and He as Gods Perfect gift to us (Matthew 2:11).
• The Yule Log was a symbol by which all the men in the family would carry a log large enough to burn for 12 days into the house. They were identifying with Christ and His Cross. The fire was started with a fragment from the previous years (this refers to the eternal existence of Christ before His birth) log. It speaks of warmth, unity, joy and the security of endless life.
• Mistletoe is an ancient symbol from the Roman times. It was under Mistletoe that old enmities and broken friendship were restored.  So Christ was the One who took away the enmity and gave us Peace with God (Romans 5:1; Romans 8:1).
• Bells are associated with ringing out news. Christ is the good news, the best news of all.
• Christmas Eve is a time when we remember that Christ came in the darkest night of Earth's need to be the Light of the World.
• Shepherds who were watching lambs for use as sacrifices in the Temple, were the first to hear the great news that the Lamb to end all sacrifices had appeared.
• Christmas Pie is an old tradition that uses a Mince pie with various spices to remember the spices of the Magi. For centuries it was made in a manger shape. 

Some Modern Additions

• In 1822 Clement Moore wrote a poem for children that has never been forgotten. It was entitled, "Twas the Night before Christmas..."!
• Santa Claus is a Dutch word that is actually Sinter Claus...Saint Nicholas in English.
• Saint Nicholas was the supposed early Bishop of a church in Asia Minor (the modern country of Turkey). He became aware of some desperate needs in his congregation, and a family having to sell their children into slavery, so one night he came and left money on their doorstep...gold in a stocking.
• Christmas Cards started in 1844. An English artist named William Dobson, drew up some pictures in England for use at this season. They found local use there and soon spread to America. In 1846 Cole and Horsley saw the commercial potential of this growing tradition and started the production of what is now over a $1,000,000,000.00 industry, that sees 4 billion cards sent each year in America alone. 

This morning I woke feeling exhausted and a bit sad. This is all too common in life with Lyme.

​Instead of staying buried in those feelings, I decided I needed to hear a message on Hope.

I went back to Living Stones Church, to their 2014 archive, and found an awesome message of encouragement.

It's worth devoting time to listen to what God wants for each of us.

Video Cred: Living Stones Church
​Message Cred: God

​It's Holy Week. One of the most important times of the year (next to Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus). I found this GodTube video earlier...or rather, the Spirit guided me there. It's brilliant because it depicts true accounts in a creative way. It's a bit more than 5 minutes long, but it's worth watching every second. Hope you enjoy this video as much as I do.

​We all have at least one TV series, movie “empire” or book trilogy that we enjoy. There are so many great ones to choose from. However, how many of you have found yourselves really into the 1st season, first movie and/or first book in a series only to be disappointed by the sequels? Of course there are exceptions...some sequels are very awesome. But we all have to admit that for we've wondered what the producers, writers and/or authors were thinking...if those responsible were out of their minds, burned out and grasping for ideas or just high on something. :-)

Let's take the Star Wars movie empire for example. LOL...I can already feel Star Wars devotees squirming at the possibility of insulting George Lucas' greatest creations. I love Star Wars...so no offense is intended.

Star Wars is a great example of a series that started strong and whose follow ups were good on their own level but just couldn't replace the originality of the first few films. So the special effects tech wasn't as sophisticated. Did that really matter? No. Why? Original, quality writing and outstanding performers outweigh other qualities and are perhaps taken for granted in this new age, new way of doing things. I don't have anything against special effects. They're rather cool, but they can be overdone. The overuse of special effects is like high frequency usage of the F-word and graphic sex into a novel to make it more interesting. It is an incorrect assumption that all consumers want that stuff. You'd be surprised how many quality original works use very little or none of that as a foundation of their success.

Rambling point to a close, sometimes once bright and inspired works falter. They fail to go back to their origins to discover what worked and blend it with new possibilities so that they can maintain their success while making the best provisions for their new and existing fan base. 

Disappointment in our favorite media is believe it or not similar to the feelings some (or perhaps even most) of us have about our relationships. Relationships with spouses, significant others, friends, family, colleagues, whomever. Many relationships start out great and can be quite invigorating. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of the first date and the excitement of the first day at a new job and meeting new people.

But somewhere along the lines, things can fade. Even in the strongest relationship. Maintaining authentic interest, warmth, happiness and love in all relationships is vital. Being comfortable is nice, but sometimes that leads to taking others for granted and eventual distance or disconnection. Learning to refresh and revitalize is one key to keeping relationships strong.

Maintenance is a heart matter. It's the most difficult part of keeping quality connections with those in our lives because it takes authentic effort (and a lot of it) from all involved...the responsibility doesn't just fall on one person. Throwing money and gifts into relationships is nice, but it doesn't address the core of relationships. As mentioned at the start of this paragraph, this is a HEART matter. Authentic caring. A must. And people change in time so to think what was true about them say 10 or 20 years ago is the same now, is a bit presumptuous. Sure some things could still be the same, but perhaps some things have changed. So it's important to hold dear to what we first loved while making an effort to maintain what is now. The effort is worth it...even if it's all over again and feels like the movie Groundhog Day. :-)

Remember, relationships can grow moldy and stale like the foil-wrapped mystery in the back of one’s fridge. You wouldn't want to serve that up for dinner, would you? No. Keep it fresh and enjoy every moment of it when you have it. And to be fresh, remember that it doesn't require a lot of "special effects".

Now, I hope I haven't lost you with this long post, but I'm about to talk about the most important relationship now.

One can't help but give a special shout out to Jesus. It is Palm Sunday after all. It's a great day to examine one’s personal relationship with Jesus. It is the most important and sacred relationship we will ever have. And unlike media stuff and our interpersonal relationships, Jesus is the same today...yesterday...forever. You'd think that would make relationship maintenance with Jesus easier, but if we're all being honest, it's one of the most difficult relationships to maintain. New Christians (and the toughest warriors) are always easy to pick out of a crowd because they're "all in" seemingly most all the time. For some of us (perhaps the majority), it's not as easy. It turns into a task or work. What should be beautiful becomes routine or finds less of a priority in our days. Our narrow path forward with Christ becomes riddled with potholes, mud puddles and overgrown weeds.

Why is a relationship with Jesus so tough to maintain?

Well, many reasons. But the major kicker is the devil. And oh how clever he is, in particular when one is trying to get one's life on track and be a stronger Christian and walk the good path. One of the ways the devil gets us is by distracting us. There isn't a person in this galaxy immune to this tactic. The devil enjoys providing distractions masked as people and things we love. People and things we consciously (or unconsciously) feel are more important than anything else at the time. Work (enjoyable or not). Hobbies. Social lives. Finances. Physical fitness. Social media. TV. Movies. Books. Games. Gardening. Post-grad work. Home improvement. Shopping. Sit-ins at Starbucks. So many distractions. Distractions that are yes important to us, but should never in the long run be more important than our relationship with Jesus Christ. 

But I go to church every week…isn’t that enough?

No. Nope. Nada. No way. It requires consistent and authentic effort, dedication and love.

​My church has an exit sign in its parking lot that reads “You Are Now Entering The Mission Field” for a reason. Worship, thanksgiving, Biblical love…It’s all so much more than going to church once a week and an occasional prayer.

It’s taking time to read the Life and Death Handbook, i.e., The Bible. Witnessing. Communion with fellow believers—and those who are “on the fence”, who question and who don't believe. Prayerful meditation, i.e., a time when one talks with Him. It's living one’s life according to Biblical values and laws…the 10 Commandments weren’t a suggestion and Jesus’ teachings aren’t just tales to tell at Bible camp.